Lethal Combination

Chapter 20

Just as when they exited the front doors of the manor, Ainsdale saw that three cars of the same model and color from the same company were waiting for them. It's as if it was well maintained without any speck of dust. And looking at the cars from where she was at, she couldn't help but think they were purchased not too long ago as an addition to the family's collection of expensive cars. Even though not heavily tinted, every window of the cars was tinted black, restricting anyone from outside to see clearly whoever it was that was inside unless the doors were opened or the windows were rolled down. But is there anyone in the city who doesn't know the cars owned by the Arcanes? The family is known across the country that even the cars they use can be easily distinguished from others because all the cars they own screams luxury.

"Maserati Levante Trofeo," she thought to herself.

The Arcanes have all the rights to show their wealth to the public, but really, they didn't even try to tone-down on the things that showed their assets, which made other people salivate with envy. Each car would surely have cost a fortune. How many orphaned children would have been given a roof to sleep under and food to survive the day with the money used to buy each of them? But then again, she knew that there were more expensive cars and motorbikes displayed in the underground parking lot by different well-known manufacturers all over the world beneath the manor of Terra di Sienna. The Maseratis in question surely didn't even make a dent in their overflowing fortune. Even if they gave away half of what was within the estate, it would only leave a small mark on their books of accounts.

At present, Alessio, the youngest Arcane to have ever hold the position passed down from one generation to the next in their family, is the one leading the Arcanes in its present state and fame after his grandfather. In fact, the title was handed straight to him by the old patriarch of the Arcana, Alonzo Arcane. The fortune that came along with his name, position, inheritance and hard work made their vassals and retainers bow down to him while his enemies fear and cower at the mere mention of his name.

His capability and knowledge made his subordinates follow him without a word. All of it, including the wealth attached to his name combined with his looks and charisma, made women flock themselves around him like a moth to a flame, so she wouldn't be shocked if she saw them trying to get his attention, even up to this very day. After all, he is still among the most sought bachelors since his engagement to Euphrosyne Simonetti has not been made public as of yet.

"Luca, isn't three too many?"

"It's actually the bare minimum."

She frowned at Luca's nonchalant reply. She could understand if there were only two because the rest of the bodyguards would be riding on the other one, but three? She looked around, expecting to see someone who would be going with them on their trip. Is there anyone in the family who will be going with them that she does not know about? She thought it was only Walter's family and her. Didn't Amelia say so? But before her thoughts could go further beyond, Amelia and her daughter went towards the car in the middle where Kian and another man, probably one of Alessio's men too, were standing by, as if it was a daily thing for them to have him as their driver whenever they went out. It was then that she realized something. They will be riding in different cars even though their destination is the same. Probably for security measures.

"Pensavo ci stessi guidando? (I thought you were driving us?)" She asked Luca, who was by then standing beside her.

"Avrei dovuto. (I was supposed to.) But to lessen the danger that will come when you all ride together in a single car, we have decided to split you into two. While Amelia and her daughter will go with Kian and Fabio as they usually do whenever they're going out, you will be riding in the same car with me."

"Why? Are there any threats?"

Luca walked towards the car at the front while she followed him from behind. "There isn't a day that there is not. We have just learned to live with it by taking measures."

If there was a threat, she knew it would be safer to keep her near both Amelia and Gavionne. After all, it was only those two who needed protection and she was certain she could protect them while the rest was busy dealing with the problem if, by chance, it happened. But since Luca was the only one who knew of her real identity, he must have thought that it would be better for them to guard both Walter's wife and daughter in a way that they'd be less aware of what she was really capable of doing. But if they saw her pulling the trigger of a gun to shoot someone, wouldn't their efforts be proven useless then, especially when she couldn't actually pretend that it was her first time killing?

Ainsdale had chosen not to say anything. It was what those in charge of the family's security had decided to do. If she needed to extend a hand, she'd do so if necessary. Even if it means them discovering who she really is.

When she did not say anything, Luca continued. "The Arcana isn't actually just your normal family and I'm sure you already know that, way before you have been directly involved with us. It's not only the Arcane Conglomerates and Chain of Hotels that have made the Arcana one of the wealthiest families on the face of the earth. It is also because of what and how we operate in the shadows. Alessio inherited not just the wealth and position but also the threats and dangers that have been passed down by generations. And as long as one is a part of the Arcana, no matter what the circumstances are, threats will always come knocking at their door in different ways and forms."

"So how do you guys survive?"

"Easy. We kill using whatever means necessary."

Ainsdale raised one of her eyebrows in question. "Killing… is easy?"

"Well, if you don't get to be put behind bars after shooting someone in the head and the heart even in broad daylight, yes, it is easy. You can't really expect the law enforcers to do their work since they are being paid by us or others to be controlled. Their loyalty is not to the government but to those who can meet their price as well as those whom they fear."

"Did your conscience ever haunt you at night?"

For a while, Luca gave what she said a thought.

"Maybe we have grown accustomed to doing such things that it doesn't bother us anymore. As long as it was for the safety of the family, we never regret it if we killed someone, especially those who threatened the safety of each of our family members. And we will still kill in the future if we have to, as long as we have a reason to do so."

"But that didn't answer my question."

"Why, does your conscience ever haunt you at night? I was curious enough to ask if it made you… scream," he chuckled as if what he said was a joke in itself.

Did he really have to throw the question right back at her face? Or was it already his intention to know her opinion about the matter and just used the perfect time to get the answer out of her?

"No." Why would it haunt her if she decided to do it herself without anyone forcing her to do so?

Luca smiled at her, his eyes twinkling in fascination. How many women would he ever have a conversation with where their topic is killing and bloodshed and she'd act indifferent while they're at it? Like she was already used to taking lives as if it was a normal thing for her? Probably only with Aizen's sister, Ainsdale, who has blood on her hands just like them. In fact, with the things he came to know about her these past few days, he could say that she is worse than them because she never takes the lives of innocent people into consideration, just as long as she could take down the person she was about to kill. She was someone who had caused a commercial plane crash midflight just because her sole target was in it. That fact always made chills run through his skin every time he imagined how she did it. At least when the Arcana kills, the innocent people who got involved were casualties who were accidentally caught on fire.

He glanced back at her. How great would it be to see his twin's reaction if he ever learns that the woman he thinks betrayed the Arcana is a different woman? That the Euphrosyne who was with them right now since the day of the kidnapping was a woman who was capable of shooting the head of the family without any remorse nor guilt? A laugh made its way out of his mouth when he remembered Ainsdale made it hard for his twin to kidnap her back then, but he immediately concealed it with a grin when Ainsdale gave him a skeptical look. His twin, Lucian, had been under suspicion with regards to her whereabouts and identity since she held herself while fighting him in hand-to-hand combat, but until today, Lucian didn't have any idea that she was not the Euphrosyne they once knew and hated.

"I know you and Alessio have the same kind of feather. No wonder why he is so enamored by you." At that, something clicked in his mind. "Ah, now that we're at it, I have something to share with you."

"What is it?"

Luca held his hand towards her and gestured her to wait with a knowing smile etched on his lips. He was operating his phone using his other hand and not even a few seconds later, after pressing a few buttons here and there, Aindale's phone's notification tone tinged. What she saw on her screen almost made her eyes widen, but because she was trained to look emotionally detached at certain times, she was able to look unaffected. If she was someone who blushes easily, her cheeks would have looked like the color of strawberries by now. She had never been in an embarrassing position such as the one in the photo, not even once. And to think that the photo shows a different matter in that particular scene which Luca captured candidly instead of her fighting for her own life. No one would certainly believe her if she explained her side because their position was so intimate that she too thinks she and Alessio are making love at first glance.

What Luca had sent her was a photo taken candidly back when her and Alessio tried to kill each other while having mistaken each other's identity. In the photo, both of them looked like a mess. Literally a very bloody mess. The floor, including them, was painted red due to the blood of the man whom Alessio killed that night before he went into her room along with his own, because she had already shot him by the time the photo was taken. Cuts were also visible on her arms because of the glass shards that found their way onto her flesh while she was fighting with the head of the Arcana at that time. Alessio, who was kneeling astride her who, by that time, was lying on her back on the floor, was looking at her intently. It was either out of anger or curiosity. Their bodies almost left no room in between them because Alessio was holding her tied hands above her head while she was holding tightly onto his gun which she had used to shoot him. The scene almost looked like they were doing something on the floor. From an outsider's point of view, they certainly look like they are making love – roughly, if you consider the gun, the silk belt, the blood and the broken glass shards that surround them.

"Don't you think that's a one hot scene? I'll be showing that at your wedding one day to let your guests know how you two met. Seeing their reaction would be great, don't you think?"

But in all honesty, that night was not the first time she had met him. It was on his twelfth birthday. It was also not the first time she had met the head of the Arcana, because she first saw him when they kidnapped her in the underground parking lot of ISR, the building the Castigliones owned.

"If you want to have your head rolling down from your neck with blood painting the floor red, feel free to do so."

He chuckled at her statement. His eyes twinkling in merriment. "How can you threaten me with an innocent smile on your lips? That's scary I'm telling you. It was like you telling me to go die is a natural thing and that it should happen soon."

"Oh, isn't it normal?"

"Stop being sarcastic. Maybe it was normal for the likes of you and Alessio, but not for normal people like me."

"Are you even normal?"

"Am I supposed to get hurt by that statement?"

"Why, is there a sting somewhere in the corner of your heart?"

"No."

She chuckled as she looked again at the photo on the screen. In normal circumstances, she would have immediately erased it but this time, she did not. Within a few seconds, it was automatically saved on her phone's gallery and cloud.

Upon reaching the car, Luca had opened the door in the backseat immediately for her like a gentleman would but she declined and said she'd be sitting at the passenger's side beside him instead.

Luca looked at her puzzled. "You're not riding in the backseat?"

"I'd rather sit in the front," she answered him nonchalantly as she opened the door on the passenger's seat. "Besides, you're not my driver."

"You're the donna."

"I'm not."

"Hmm, tell yourself that."

"I am not."

Luca had to laugh at how stubborn she could be. As he slightly shook his head in disbelief, he pushed the door close before he walked around the car towards the driver's seat.

"Alessio openly shows his affection towards you, which I am telling you is something he never did before," he told her when they were already sitting inside. "He was never ashamed to show how much he cared about you. And do you know why? Not only because he wanted you to be aware of all of his intentions, but to also indirectly tell us that we as his subordinates should protect you at all cost in place of him when he is not around to protect you himself."

"I don't need anyone's protection. I am here to use Scion in every way that I can. Wouldn't it be weird to receive protection from someone I'm using to achieve my own goals?"

"He's letting you do everything you wish, isn't he? That includes you using him for your own gains. He gave you the right to do that. He's letting you run wild in his territory. Don't you think that is something, especially when it was him we're talking about?"

"I can also kill, Luca. I can pull a trigger without so much of a blink."

She bit the side of her inner lip as she remembered what Alessio had told her before.

"I don't care who you kill… or what kind of sin you commit. You can do whatever you want. As long as you do it by my side."

He said she could do whatever she wanted and that for certain included her using him. He had given her free rein over her own decisions and he had given her the right to execute them whenever she wanted. What if she does things away from him? Without his knowledge? What if she does something that will surely endanger or ruin the name of the Arcana? Would that make her his enemy then? Because that is what his last statement was implying, no matter how much she disarrange his words.

"Yes, I'm aware," Luca retorted. "It is actually great that you can. It only means that you have what it takes to stand beside the man who is leading the Famiglia. Alessio non ha bisogno di una damigella in pericolo nella sua vita né di una donna in attesa di essere soccorsa. Ha bisogno di qualcuno che possa domare la bestia che era. Qualcuno che non si ritrae quando il pericolo che è lui nella carne viene a bussare. (Alessio does not need a damsel in distress in his life nor a woman waiting to be rescued. He is in need of someone who can tame the beast that he was. Someone who won't cower away when danger which is him in the flesh comes knocking.)"

"E pensi che fossi io? (And you think that was me?)"

"So che lo sei, raggio di sole. (I know you are, sunshine.) And I'm sure the others can tell that it was you. Maybe you are not aware of it, but those who have been with the don for a long time can see how much he has changed with you around. It was like he turned over a new life while staying the same if that ever made sense. He's… different."

Ainsdale just shook her head subtly with a smile and a chuckle. After they got inside the car, the rest of the bodyguards who would be accompanying them immediately rode into the last car and if she was not wrong, there were four of them. If she added Luca and Kian to the equation, there would be a total of six armed men accompanying them for today's trip. Isn't that a little too much for the security of just a mother and a daughter who were both an Arcane? Luca and the rest don't look like they belong to the mafia who deal with drugs and trafficking. In fact, their attires and looks made them look like they were dignified men who work for a big company. Well, they do actually, just on the other side of it.

"Who's driving in the car out back?" She asked while strapping her seatbelt in place.

For a moment, Luca glanced at her before he turned on the engine of the car which roared softly to life. "Deniro. Why?"

"Are the cars bulletproof?"

"Yes. It's the Arcanes after all. If a threat greets you almost every day, one has to adjust to it to make his or her daily life as normal as it can, especially when you're among the main members of the family."

"Tell Deniro to drive the car in the middle. The car where Walter's wife and daughter were riding would be in front of the convoy while we would be following from behind."

Luca looked at her with a frown but followed what she said as he pressed the communication device that was attached to his left ear before he repeated her instructions to the man he called Deniro. Deniro must have asked him why they had to change their formation from their original plan, so Luca glanced in her direction before he answered.

"È l'ordine della donna. (It's the donna's order.)"

For a while, Luca listened to what Deniro had to say regarding her suggestion. There were times that he frowned and at certain times, he almost cursed out loud because the latter questioned him about her. But in the end Luca just sighed as he tapped his forefinger on the steering wheel. And if she is not wrong, Kian was included in the conversation too, because she knew that the communication device they were using could be used for teleconferences where everyone who has it within a certain radius can join in on the conversation.

"Avrebbe potuto considerare qualcosa in mente quindi vai con esso. (She might have considered something in mind so just go with it.) Keep your eyes open. Who knows, someone might be waiting for us on the road. And Kian…"

She's right. He's included in the conversation too. After all, it was him who had been assigned to mainly guard both Amelia and her daughter Gavionne. Walter had given him his trust to keep both his wife and daughter safe in his absence.

"Assicurati di rimanere in vista. Guideremo da dietro. (Be sure to stay in sight. We'll be driving from behind.)"

The Maserati behind which is being driven by Deniro slowly went past them, followed by the one where Amelia and her daughter were at. As per her instructions, they followed the two cars from behind as they exited the gates of the manor. Because the Terra di Sienna estate was vast, it took them a while before they finally reached the gates of the estate, which led them straight to the main road that would take them to their destination right in the middle of the city where the Arcane Conglomerates' building was.

"Why did you suggest we drive from behind away from the car being driven by Kian which was now in front instead of in the middle?"

"You said the cars were bulletproof, so a sniper would be the least of our worries. And if kidnapping was the main purpose, an ambush would be a good way to do that, but in the middle of a busy highway where the four lanes go in the same direction, an ambush doesn't happen in front. If I were to ambush someone, doing it from behind and stopping it in the middle would be the most suitable one. If that happened, the main job of Deniro and his group was to make sure the car where Kian and Walter's family were in would get away safely. They will protect the car out front while we deal with the ones who are doing the ambush."

Luca looked at her like she'd gone crazy. How did she even come up with that idea within those few minutes that they stood talking in front of the manor a while ago? "You think the two of us could handle it?"

She deliberately ignored his stare and when he focused his attention back on the road, it was only then that she chose to retort. "Of course, you have me right here after all. Anyone who causes an ambush would either take fifteen people. That is three cars at most, if not, five. If we happen to meet misfortune on our way to the AC, I can make a car topple over where everyone inside will surely be killed, so all you have to do is drive the car and I will do the shooting."

Luca was dumbfounded. He still can not actually comprehend the way she thinks, even though he already has an idea of what she is capable of doing. He didn't think that hearing her say such things as killing people, as if it was a normal thing to do, would still be shocking.

"I need a gun."

"What?"

"You know, if we're expecting a threat on the road where ambush is the most effective, I need to know where I can grab a gun so that I can help."

"Have you forgotten that you are presently bound by the drug that is still in your system? Stefano is out of the country when he should be working for the family because, as he said, he owes you his life. You cannot possibly do the things you are capable of doing when you are working as a spy."

"I can. Only by a limited time to lessen the strain on my body."

"But it will still strain you," he thought to himself as he held onto the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles almost turned white. "Can you at least pretend to care about my life here? Alessio will kill me if I ever let you do that. I can already foresee the way he is going to treat me if he sees you suffering from the aftereffects of Flagrare once you overexert yourself," he told her.

"I'll make sure that he won't."

"One thing you should know is that he won't listen to reasons when he's angered."

"He will listen to me," she stated, her voice firm and sure.

He kept silent for a moment before he gave up a deep sigh as he cursed in his mind. "There are three pistols in the dashboard compartment with extra mags, five submachine guns under your chair and two sniper rifles behind the backrest on the backseat."

Ainsdale blinked and then gaped at Luca, whose attention was solely on the road he was driving on. She didn't think she heard him wrong. "The hell. Are you somehow going into a war?"

He chuckled. "One has to always be prepared. We have always been at war with other families and the government in general. It doesn't hurt to stay alert and ready. After all, it was an everyday thing for us to have people wanting to kill us for different reasons."

Without a word, she pulled open the dashboard compartment. A whistle made its way out of her lips as she pulled out one of the pistols being kept in there. The Wilson Combat Tactical Supergrade was silver and, as far as she knew, it was worth more or less than six thousand US dollars each.

"You guys really don't spare any cent even with your guns," she told Luca as she inspected the gun in her hand like an expert that she was.

With her facial reaction, Luca could see that she had somehow found a toy that fascinated her which she couldn't wait to test out for herself. Her reaction was like those women he saw who had been gifted with luxurious jewelry that was worth more than they could handle and it was quite amusing. Alessio would have loved to see her expression while looking at the pistol in her hand. An idea popped into his mind and the second he got hold of his phone, he took a candid photo of her.

"Nice," he thought to himself with a smile as he sent the photo to Alessio with a note that said: The donna has found herself a toy to play with.

Luca could see three periods moving in waves on the conversation box before he read Alessio's reply to what he sent him. "Dove hai persino ricevuto le tue abilità nella fotografia? Lo farò la mia carta da parati. (Where did you even get your skills in photography? I'll make it my wallpaper.)"

"Dove sono i miei ringraziamenti? (Where's my thanks?)"

"Thanks."

"On the other hand, I'm more in need of a raise."

"Go ahead and die, Luca. No one's stopping you."

He chuckled out of the blue and Ainsdale raised her head to look at him. "Focus on the road, Luca."

"I'm about to."

Not too long after they entered the busy highway which would take them straight to where most of the Arcanes were working, Ainsdale noticed something amiss when she looked at the rearview mirror at her side. For a while, she only watched, but the way it followed them was disturbing her.

"Is the car's system connected with AVII's interface?"

"I think so. Why?"

Instead of answering, she pressed a few buttons on the screen of her smartwatch. Not a minute later, the monitor on the dash board showed AVII's interface. She navigated in it for a while and when she found what she was looking for, she leaned back in her seat.

"AVII…"

"Good day, Miss Castiglione! How may I be of assistance?"

"Show me a live feed on the A4."

"Would you like to be identified?"

"Yes. Be sure to mark the three Maserati Levante Trofeos owned by the Arcanes. Give me enough radius so that I can clearly see if anyone will be approaching us from behind."

"Of course," AVII responded before showing on the screen what she needed.

She studied their position as well as the position of the car she noticed, but from an eagle's viewpoint, there were another two who had been following them for a while now.

"AVII, enable thermal scope on the three Black Chevrolet Malibus behind us and zoom in."

"What's wrong?" Luca asked as he immediately became alert.

"I think we are being followed."

"What?"

She cursed when she saw armed men riding in the cars she identified. "Tell Kian and the rest to speed up. We have company."

She removed her seatbelt and went behind to get the rifle Luca had mentioned to her before, while Luca relayed what she said in a rush. When she got back in her seat, she checked the rifle before standing up to open the glass sunroof of the car.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm about to get a few people killed."

Luca cursed before he glanced at his rearview mirror. His eyes widened when he saw the people she was talking about, but before he could think of what was happening, he heard the sound of a gun being fired from above. One of the cars swerved to the right before crashing over into the concrete barriers.

"s**t!" he thought to himself. She really could pull the trigger.